About Us

Research at Every Child Succeeds

Every Child Succeeds is regional program designed to ensure an optimal start for children.

Through its association with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Every Child Succeeds contributes to the home visitation field through programmatic scientific studies that generate new and more effective practices. All members of the ECS community are involved in research activities, including mothers, children and families; home visitors and agencies; and Cincinnati Children's faculty. It is through such efforts that new research findings are made and the next generation of home visitation programs will emerge, optimizing the development and well-being of children and families through improved interventions.

Every Child Succeeds has obtained federally funded research grants to pursue studies of important areas in home visitation. Current studies include The First Years Project, a clinical trial of motivational interviewing to increase retention and program adherence, and the Mother and Infant Depression Improvement Study, a clinical trial of In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a treatment developed at ECS for depressed mothers participating in home visitation. Additional studies include those examining the impact of Every Child Succeeds on infant mortality, maternal depression and maternal trauma history.

Funded Research

Two federally funded grants allow Every Child Succeeds to conduct research studies, which include:

Mother and Infant Depression Improvement Study (MIDIS):

Funded by the National Institute on Mental Health, this study shows that about two of every five women who participates in Every Child Succeeds has clinically elevated levels of depression, an illness that can have a devastating impact on maternal functioning and a child's social, emotional and cognitive development. This three-year, randomized clinical trial will determine the effectiveness of In-Home Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (IH-CBT) by comparing mothers receiving IH-CBT and home visitation with mothers receiving home visitation plus community treatment. Originally developed with a grant from the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, IH-CBT consists of 15 weekly treatment sessions and a one month booster session.

First Years Project

Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, this four-year research study will help us understand why families join, remain and leave home visitation programs, and determine whether motivational enrichment helps families maintain their commitment to the program over time. The study abstract can be found at (link).

New Research Findings

"Intensive Home Visiting is Associated with Decreased Risk of Infant Death"

This study, led by Edward F. Donovan, MD, of the Cincinnati Children's, compared the outcomes of more than 1,600 infants whose families received visits through Every Child Succeeds with those in almost 5,000 homes that did not. Children in the second group were 2.5 times as likely as the others to die in infancy, the study said.

Findings, published in the June 2007 issue of Pediatrics, indicated that health workers may be able to reduce the number of infant deaths by making regular home visits before and after birth to the homes of pregnant women considered at risk. Many of those studied had several risk factors associated with infant mortality, including late-term or no prenatal care, low income, depression, drug or alcohol consumption during pregnancy, low birth weight and premature birth, smoking, SIDS, accidental injury and abuse and neglect.

Publications and Presentations

Adobe Acrobat PDF file. View a list of publications and presentations from Every Child Succeeds in portable document format (.pdf).

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